Water Turbidity
Benchmark Value
Scoring Curve
This curve shows how a field measurement for this indicator would score across all available benchmark forms in this context.
Evidence & Context
Aspirational/Excellent Condition (Median < 6 NTU): This represents the highest level of environmental performance. A site achieving this would have a negligible impact on water clarity, with its median turbidity approaching that of a natural, minimally disturbed reference system like the Mary River.
Median water turbidity in NTU representing natural baseline conditions in minimally disturbed tropical monsoonal savanna rivers.
Median turbidity representing aspirational environmental performance mimicking natural reference conditions.
Based on the median turbidity measured across the reference Mary River catchment, encompassing natural seasonal variability.
Sources (1)
Water quality monitoring in the Mary River catchment - Territory Stories, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceSupporting Sources (32)
Additional references from the underlying research that informed this benchmark.
2. Development of a water quality regulation framework for pulse exposures of mine water discharges at a uranium mine in northern Australia - PubMed, accessed July 21, 2025,
View SourceA meta-analytical review of turbidity effects on fish mobility - ResearchGate, accessed July 19, 2025,
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View SourceReport Card 2022-23 - EPA Victoria
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View SourceDischarge-driven seasonal pattern of ionic solutes, suspended sediment and water clarity for a tropical savanna river in northern Australia - CSIRO PUBLISHING | Marine and Freshwater Research
View SourceDraft Environmental Impact Statement - Northern Territory Government, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceEffectiveness of mine rehabilitation in relation to water quality - PubMed, accessed July 24, 2025,
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View SourceEnvironment Protection (Alligator Rivers Region) Act 1978 - Transparency Portal, accessed July 24, 2025, )-act-1978
View SourceRevised Ranger Mine Water Quality Objectives for Magela Creek and Gulungul Creek (DOCX 1 MB) - DCCEEW
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View SourceEastern Pilbara Water Resources Management Plan - EPA WA, accessed August 1, 2025
View SourceKöppen climate classification - Wikipedia, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceMining in the Alligator Rivers Region, northern Australia: assessing potential and actual effects on ecosystem and human health - PubMed, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceRecommended environmental water requirements for the Daly River, Northern Territory, based on ecological, hydrological and biological principles - DCCEEW, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceRegulatory Statement: Monitoring of Electrical Conductivity in the Beetaloo Sub 2basin, accessed August 1, 2025
View SourceSandy Flat Mine (former Redbank Mine) | NT.GOV.AU, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceSustainable Mine Water Management Strategies, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceSustainable mine-water management strategies for open-pit mines - Mining Engineering Online - Official Publication of SME, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceThe ALTEMIS Approach - Savannah River National Laboratory, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceTo fear or to feed: the effects of turbidity on perception of risk by a marine fish - ResearchOnline@JCU, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceTurbulence, Temperature, and Turbidity: The Ecomechanics of Predator–Prey Interactions in Fishes | Integrative and Comparative Biology | Oxford Academic, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceUNDERSTANDING AUSTRALIA'S UNDERSTANDING AUSTRALIA'S TROPICAL RIVERS, accessed July 24, 2025,
View SourceUranium in Sediments — Rehabilitation Standard for the Ranger uranium mine, accessed July 24, 2025,
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View SourceGreat Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). (2010). Water Quality Guidelines for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Rev. ed. 35
View SourceAssessment of Impacts of Coal Mining in the Region of Sydney, Australia on the Aquatic Environment Using Macroinvertebrates and Chlorophyll as Indicators
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View SourceWater stewardship | Leading practice handbooks for sustainable mining, accessed July 13, 2025,
View SourceFeral horses (Equus caballus) increase suspended sediment in subalpine streams, accessed August 3, 2025
View Source